advice on rental agreement

[ndcj]

Kinda hard to prove you're NOT renting an apartment for " tourist purposes " if you're on a " tourist visa ".

That's not how the law works, or is interpreted. It has to be in an area apt for tourism. Apparently, there are court cases that confirm that Capital is not such a place. The exemption is designed for tourist rentals in areas like Mar del Plata, not for short term leases in the city.

And the only way this will stop is by simply having the contracts written in pesos. If a property owner wants $ 500 usd per month and the tenant doesn't want to pay in dollars the property owner should simply have the contract written for $ 3000 pesos instead. No exchange rate. End of story.

Right, but this landlord, like many others, is trying to offer a contract that is not permitted by the law. Why should he be allowed to? If he doesn't like the terms of his investment (this law has been on the books for a long time) then he should sell up and find some other "freer" investment that doesn't involve residential rentals.

The laws here for owners are a joke. What do you expect an owner of an apartment to do? Sign a two year contract in pesos and not adjust for inflation? At the end of the two years they'd be using those pesos for toilet paper because that's all it would be good for.

Sorry, but indexing is necessary as long as there is double digit inflation.

Doesn't matter what you think though, it's not lawful. The trick in two year contracts is that they write the rent as, for example, $6000 pesos per month, with the first year at $4000 as a "discount".

Lets also be clear, we're talking about what amounts to monthly indexing here. You have no idea what your housing expense will be from one month to the next, based on an index (the parallel dollar rate) that is based on largely on hysteria and fear mongering.

If the rules don't work for you, don't invest in residential rental property in Argentina or form a lobby group to try and convince everyone that the law should be changed. Don't pretend that clauses like this are legally enforceable.

 

[el_expatriado]

Legal or not, it is pretty much standard practice. Myself and every Argentine I know who rents has had there rent increased several times during their 2 year lease.

Yes, I am not surprised. It has been a long time since I rented residential property. When I rented, I paid in dollars, so there was no increase. If I was renting today, I would offer to pay in dollars and expect (and demand) to receive a 2 year contract with no increases and with at least a 35% discount over a similar apartment in pesos. Most owners here today would go for that if they know they are going to receive greenbacks each month.

 

[TheBlackHand]

Exactly. This is a completely acceptable and standard practice here in Argentina. ndcj, you must be living in a parallel universe because in the real world, this is how things work.

Legal or not, it is pretty much standard practice. Myself and every Argentine I know who rents has had there rent increased several times during their 2 year lease.

 

[ndcj]

Exactly. This is a completely acceptable and standard practice here in Argentina. ndcj, you must be living in a parallel universe because in the real world, this is how things work.

See what I wrote above, about the way that contracts with increases are written.

You set a price, which is the "final" price, and then one or more discounts for certain periods. The norm is one price for the second year, and a different (25% less) price for the first year as a "bonificacion".

Look around on the real estate sites. The rates are usually one rate for the first year, a different rate for the second year, but they are always set in stone in advance in the contract that is signed at the beginning.

What you cannot do is tie it to some arbitrary index (like the blue rate for dollars) and have it automatically adjust. That is not lawful, neither in this universe, or a parallel one.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

Every rental contract I've signed in Argentina has one price ($ARS) for the first year and a higher price for the second year. Very common in my experience and very legitimate from an owner's perspective. I've been offered contracts in $US and have turned them down becausue I didn't want to assume the burden of a devaluing Peso. They didn't want to write it in Pesos so we said thanks and adios.

You've gotten some great advice here. Personally, as much as I might feel otherwise in the moment, I think it's best to not start wars with people. There are enough problems in this life without having to ask for more. Unless your calling in life is to be an activist for a more just and verdant society it's probably best to not swim against the tide. Do what you can to make a difference by being somebody different. Jeez, I sound like my father whom I thought was an idiot when I was 20 years old!

Either pony up what they want or look elsewhere. This is free market at work. Don't get offended. Just know what you want and negotiate as close as possible to that as you can. Again, there are a LOT of apartments for rent here in Buenos Aires. If you can't work out something with the current landlord I'm sure you'll find something else that fits your needs and can write an agreement will make that owner happy as well.